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Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVII, Issue 10, 9 December 1926, Page 6

Mails which left Wellington on 9th November per Makura via San Francisco arrived in London on December 6th.

The body of William Henry Aston, aged 32, was found in the Auckland Domain yesterday. He was last seen alive two hours previously.

A meeting of the New Zealand Council of the Life Saving Society at Christchurch decided to allot the Nelson shield competition to Taranaki. Arising out of a confidential report by its traffic inspector (Mr W. Berry) in reference to a motor accident on the Awahuri road, the Manawatu County Council yesterday decided to write to the Justice Department on the matter. After having beep gutted of everything of commercial value, the old wooclen tug Admiral was towed out from Wellington to Cook Strait yesterday by the Harbour Board’s tug Toia and scuttled.

In spite of the prevalence of mumps and measles, many Dunedin schools are averaging a very high attendance. The Education Board’s attendance officer reported this morning that the attendance in most of the schools had shown .a decided improvement during the last few weeks.

While working in the Kauaeranga bush during last week-end,, a bushman named Morton Graham, 35 years of age, sustained seven broken ribs and had his head cut open. He was engaged in sawing a large kauri, when a “mammock” fell across his back, inflicting the injuries mentioned. He was conveyed to the Thames Hospital. A strange fish found on the beach by Messrs Watson Bros., of Paraparaumu, was taken to the Dominion Museum at Wellington and proves to be of the genus Trachipterus, - species trachypterus. It is an extraordinary-looking fish. Although measuring Ift 6in in length and four or five inches ih width, it averages only Jin in thickness, ana at the tail is much thinner than that.

Thieves broke into the tobacconist’s shop of E. H. Moore in Fitzgerald avenue, Christchurch, some time during Tuesday night and decamped with £ll worth of cigarettes and tobacco. This is the latest of several small burglaries which have taken place in Christchurch and the suburbs recently. It is believed that the same persons have been responsible for all the thefts.

No alteration to the law relating to the payment of pensions to soldiers’ widows is contemplated by the Government, according to a notification received by the Southern Cross League from the Commissioner of Pensions, states an Auckland correspondent. A suggestion was recently made that the definition of a soldier’s widow should be changed so as to include under the benefits a larger class of women. This was opposed by the league, which has been assured that the Government recently decided not to alter the law. The fact that, while on tour in England recently, he saw very, little New Zealand butter as such on sale in the shops was commented upon by Mr G. H. Bennett in the course of an interview with a “Standard” reporter yesterday. Travelling hundreds of miles through Great Britain, he stated, he made frequent inquiries about the sale of Dominion butter but ascertained that while “Colonial” mixed butter was often available our produce under its own brand was comEaratively rarely seen. It pointed, e thought, to the heed for a better system of marketing.

A child named Patty Keane, only daughter of Mrs M. E. Keane, Coote road, Napier, aged 12 years, met with rather a serious accident in a simple manner. Left at home with a younger brother they were skylarking at the front door, which was shut with such force that a piece of glass was forced out and hit the little girl in the neck, partially severing the jugular vein. The child had enough sense, although bleeding profusely, to run to the next door neighbour, where first aid was given, She is now progressing satisfactorily.

“It is not generally realised,” states the Railway Board, apropos of safety crossings, “how large is the number of level crossings which have to be negotiated by the drivers on the trunk express trains in the course of their day’s run.” The crossings which express drivers on the North Island Main Trunk have to pass over are as follow: Wellington to Tailrape 130, Taihape to Ohakune 31, Ohakune to Auckland 87 ; total 248 for three crews. The crossings in the South Island are: Chirstchurch to Glenavy 119, Glenavy to Waihola 100, Waihola to Invercargill 97; total 316 for three crews. The danger that comes of school children running out from their school gates into the roadways regardless of the quickly-moving traffic of nowadays should be impressed on them by parents and teachers (states a Dunedin message). The Otago Education Board is not regardless of the cfuestiony for among the architect’s recommendations at the board meeting yesterday was one urging that an iron railing immediately opposite the gate, say six feet in from the fence line, bo erected to prevent the children from running out into the road at a city school near tramlines. The idea was that the youngsters would be slackened in their pace through having to turn at the rail and the gate. It was decided to apply “Ho the City Council for permission to erect a rail on the edge of the footpath at the school in question. ' It comes somewhat as a shock to the present generation, to find that the practice of settling disputes by means of the duel was not unknown in the early history of Wellington (says the Post). Generally, even after the challenge had been issued, the parties managed to settle the matter by less drastic means, but there is on record at least one fatal duel. In March, 1844, Messsrs W. V. Brewer and H. Ross, each belonging to the legal profession, had a dispute on a legal matter. A challenge was issued, and a duel with pistols was arranged. At the first shot Mr Brewer fell wounded, and he died a few days later. The practice being then quite legal, no blame was attachable to his opponent, but nevertheless the verdict at the inquest was that the deceased died from a wound inflicted by some unknown person.